The most Important Thing I've Learned this Year

I have learned many things this year. However, the most important thing that I have learned about this year would have to be Martin Luther.


When studying Luther I learned that he was practicing law before he became a monk and that he was struck by lightning before becoming a monk. He struggled with the fact that he had to buy his way into heaven and new there was something more. He went to school at Whittenburg and became a professor there. He read the Bible and discovered that into was only through grace that we are saved, and not through the selling of indulgences.

I also learned that Luther began the Protestant reformation, and revealed to people that you couldn't buy your way into heaven. He revealed to the scriptures to the common man and the peasants by writing a translation of the Bible in the German language so that they could read the Bible and find the truth out for themselves. Luther stood up for the truth even though it put a price on his head and cost him his reputation.


Martin Luther was the most important person I have learned about this year because he was very influential. His life's story showed me that God changes the course of history through unlikely individuals, who are willing to pursue and teach the truth no matter what it may cost them. Luther's life also shows what an impact one person can have on the world.


Luther was the most important person I have learned about this year because he was such an influential person. He taught the truth even though doing so put a price on his head, and changed the course of history.

The Englishmen's Bill of Rights

The English Bill of Rights was a document that gave the Englishmen their rights (Jerome Blum, Cameron, Barnes 340).


The English Bill of Rights was agreed to be put in place by Parliament, and when William III and Queen Mary came to the throne, they agreed to abide by the laws within the bill. The idea of the divine right of kings was outlawed by the English Bill of Rights. It limited the power of the ruling family and increased Parliament's power. It made clear that the king would held under the law and that the Parliament would set the laws in place. The bill also gave the citizens of England their own rights(Jerome Blum, Cameron, Barnes 340).


The Bill of Rights was issued because the kings of England were abusing their power. James II had to flee for fear of losing his life due to the fact that there was a rumor that he would force England to become Catholic (Nicolson 281).When William III took over England, he and his wife, Mary, had to swear that they would consult Parliament before making a tax. They were also unable to form their own courts (Nicolson 182).

England's Bill of Rights was very influential in the first eight amendments of the United States Constitution. A few of the people who had lived during the Enlightenment were useful in making sure that parts of the English Bill of Rights were in the Constitution. The rights that the Bill of Rights gave to Englishmen when it was first issued are still in place today.


The English Bill of Rights, was a document that liberated England from the idea of the divine right of kings. It put limits on the power of the ruling family and granted more power to the Parliament. It was also influential to the United States Constitution.

Blum, Jerome, Rondo Cameron, Thomas G. Barnes. The European World: A History. Boston/Toronto; Little, Brown and Company, 1966.

Nicolson Harold. Kings, Courts And Monarchy. New York; Simon and Schuster inc., 1962.

The Thirty Years War

The Thirty Years' War began in 1618 (Davis 563). This war began with politics and religion, which, when combined over war, result in a bloody outcome.


Religion was a major reason for the Thirty Years' War. The Peace of Augsburg was an important factor in starting the war. Ever since it was issued in 1555, the arguments over religion raged even though peace had been brought to the land. In the Peace of Augsburg it declared that Lutheranism was the only Protestant religion that would be allowed to be practiced (Davis 504).

The Thirty Years' War mostly took place in the area we now know as Germany. obviously sparked by political means as well as religious. The Peace of Augsburg allowed the rulers to choose which religion would be practiced in their state. If a Protestant Lutheran lived in a Catholic state they could leave and go to a Protestant state. However, Lutheranism was not the only branch of Protestantism.


The Thirty Years' War began in Bohemia after Ferdinand the First, who was Catholic, was made king of Bohemia and Hungary. The majority of Bohemia was Protestant and all the residents of Bohemia held pride in their independence (Jerome Blum, Cameron, Barnes 207). It was in May 1618 when a few of the Bohemian nobles rebelled against Ferdinand by throwing three Catholic officials out of a window in the Hradschin Castle. The drop was around fifty feet. The Catholics were claiming that angels had saved them from dying. However, the Protestant party had said that they had landed in a pile of poop that just happened to be right outside the window (Jerome Blum, Cameron, Barnes 207-8).


The war began in 1618 (Davies 563) and ended in 1648 with the Peace of Westphalia, which was a victory for the Protestants in Germany an a defeat for the Catholics. This peace allowed both Lutheranism and Calvinism to be legal religions and supported the Peace of Augsburg (Jerome Blum, Cameron, Barnes 212).


Religion and politics were the two major factors in the Thirty Years' War, which began in Bohemia and ended with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 (Jerome Blum, Cameron, Barnes 211). One reason the Thirty Years' War can be considered religious as well as political is because The Peace of Augsburg was very important in the Thirty Years' War.

Blum, Jerome, Rondo Cameron and Thomas G. Barnes. The European World a History. Boston; Little, Brown and Company, 1996.

Davies, Norman. Europe a History. New York: NY; Oxford University Press, Inc., 1996.

Renaissance Music

The Middle Ages and the Renaissance music were very different. Most of the people of the Renaissance preferred vocal music. However, there were many instruments during the Renaissance period.


The music of the Renaissance was very different from that of the Middle Ages. Music also changed during the Renaissance, because it had become more blended. Unlike the composers of the Middle Ages, who would have a variety of notes within their music, the writers in the Renaissance began to write music so that it would flow together and harmonize.


The most popular music in the Renaissance was vocal music. This kind of music was used in the church and in secular music as well. The music writers of the Renaissance wrote music in a way that the notes in the music would work in harmony with each other.


Ottaviano de'Petrucci came up with the idea that the printing press could be used for music, and because of this idea everyone could have music. This was a big impact on society because if everyone could buy music all classes could have it and those who had an education were required to learn to sing, dance and play an instrument. A few instruments used in the Renaissance were the recorder, the flute, the fife, and the tabor pipe, which is very much like a recorder, however, it only has three holes. Reed instruments, such as the shawm, rackett, dulcian and the crumhorn, were also used. A few of the Renaissance dances were the branle, a dance that is performed by a group of people who form either a circle or a chain, and the pavan is a dance that is to be danced to with instruments.


The music of the Renaissance was very different from that of the Middle Ages. The Renaissance music flowed more easily than the music of the Middle Ages. Even though vocal music was very popular during the Renaissance, instruments were also played during this time, to which certain dances could be performed.

Events Leading up to the Reformation

The Reformation took place because of Martin Luther's reaction to the indulgences, which caused many people to turn from the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. Martin Luther spoke out and taught against the indulgences(Koenigsberger64), and eventually nailed the 95 thesis on the church door.


The indulgences were sold in order to get money to rebuild Saint Peter's Church. They were purely based on good works, and were sold with the lie that if you bought one, you would get out of purgatory, or whoever you bought and indulgence for would get out of heaven. One of the men hired by Pope Leo X to sell these indulgences, was Johan Tetzle. However, not everyone bought this lie.

The monk and professor at the university in Wittenberg, Marin Luther, disagreed with the idea of the indulgences. Luther believed, and taught, that you can only be saved by believing in Christ Jesus. This was problematic for pope's position, because if you didn't need anybody to intercede for you for salvation, the pope would not have such a high position (Koenigsberger 64). The 95 thesis was Martin Luther's response to the indulgences (Graham-Dixon 207).


Martin Luther nailed the 95 thesis to the door of the Castle Church on October 31, 1517. Then in 1521, Martin Luther was brought to the Diet of Worms Council. However, the 95 thesis were copied by the printing press and was translated into the German language from the Latin it was written in.


The main cause of the Reformation was Luther's reaction to the indulgences sold by the church. Martin Luther's strong disagreement and objection to the indulgences was expressed through his teaching (Koenigsberger 64), and on October 31, 1517, when he nailed the 95 thesis to the church door.


Graham-Dixon, Andrew. Renaissance. BBC Worldwide Ltd, 1999.

Koenigsberger, H.G. Early Modern Europe 1500-1789. Longman Inc; NewYork, 1987.

Battle of Tours

The Battle of Tours began on October 10, of the year 732. It was an important event in European history.


The Battle of Tours, or Battle of Poitiers, was in 732. This battle was between the Muslims and France. The Frankish leader was Charles Martel, with twenty to thirty thousand men against the Muslim leader Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi, who had eighty thousand men.


The Battle of Tours took place because of the Muslim invasion. The Muslims had conquered Egypt, Syria, and North Africa before they continued on to their attempt to conquer Western Europe, and to bring an end to the Christian Europe. Charles Martel, the King of France (Mills54), chose to fight the Muslims from higher ground, making his enemy charge up the slope in order to attack the Franks. This is one of the few times that infantry was able to defeat cavalry.


Charles Martel, or The Hammer, was the victor in the Battle of Tours on October 10, 732. The loses on both sides are not known, however, some of the chronicles estimate the loses of the Franks to be about one thousand five hundred, and the Muslims to have had ten thousand loses. The victory of Martel helped stop the invading Muslims and helped the Western European Christian states to grow, or develop.


The Muslims moved through Egypt Syria and North Africa as an unstoppable force. However, when they arrived at Tours in 732, they were stopped by the King of France and his army (Cantor 136), on October 10, 732.


Cantor, Norman F. The Civilization of the Middle Ages. HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.; New York, NY, 1963-93.

Mills, Dorthy M.A. The Middle Ages. G.P. Putnam's Sons; New York, 1935.

Louis XIV

Louis XIV was born in September 1638 and was the ruler of France for seventy-two years. Louis XIV died in September 1715.


Louis XIV was born on September 5, 1638. He was the son of Louis XIII and Anne of Austria. Louis' father died when he was only four years old. However, he was not allowed to rule until he was thirteen years of age.


During his reign, Louis XIV, or the Sun King, made a court in Versailles, the area that inspired Charles III of Naples and Sicily, hired Luigi Vanvitelli to create the design of his palace(Della Croce, Sacerdoti, 170). He also "brought absolute monarchy to its height." (source). Louis XIV ruled over England for seventy-two years, which was one of the longest reigns of his period.


Louis XIV,died on September 1, 1715. During his funeral, the words "'Dieu seul, mes feres,' intoned Bishop Massilon, 'Dieu seul est grand' (my brothers, God alone is great)", were spoken to start the "funeral oration"(Davies, 627). After his death one of his great grandsons inhereted the throne, becoming Louis XV.

LouisXIV was born on September 5, 16 1638. He reigned for seventy-two years, and died on September 1, 1715.



Davie, Norman. Europe a Histor. Harper Collins Publishers, Inc.: New York, NY, 1996.

Della Croce, Maria Laura, Annie Sacerdoti. The Great Book of Italy. Barnes & Nobel: New York, 2004.